“Good evening, Brighton! I’m Michelle Visage, and these are my breasts!”

The RuPaul’s Drag Race judge stepped up to compere this show, which brought together a range of queens from recent series to perform live, interspersed with videos of their fellow queens answering Christmas questions and teasing a good-natured Santa.

In her opening speech, Visage specially extended a welcome to young people and their parents, but the content of this variety show veered from sincerity (Visage’s own performance of her favourite carol, Silent Night) to parody (Jinkx Monsoon’s rueful song Passive-Aggressive Christmas was backed by dancers wearing shapeless check shirts and brown sacks in a send-up of straight lack of style) to more adult humour.

Sharon Needles added a level of edginess to the seasonal jollity, donning a mirrorball helmet for her clubbing-inspired track Snow Machine, with its refrain “Wanna bump with you,” and oversized cocaine-referencing props.

Later, she donned a midnight-black gown for a monologue and country murder ballad, which met with rapturous applause. The youthful crowd only half-filled the Brighton Centre, but sang along enthusiastically with Mariah Carey, cheered their fellow audience members lipsyncing to Christmas classics onstage and used their mobile phone torches to form a beautifully twinkling accompaniment to Ginger Minj’s Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas Now.

Gentler personalities like Peppermint and Ivy Winters, who showed off her juggling skills, were slightly less memorable than the more experienced and dramatic performers; violinist Thorgy Thor stalked on stage like a Russian Tsarina in a swirling scarlet cape, playing God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen while one of the four male backing dancers stretched and spun in a romantic contemporary dance.

The warm and inclusive atmosphere was inspiring, and it was a pleasant surprise to hear what strong vocalists most of the queens are when singing live.

Rosie Sutton